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Something of a Revolution

22 Aug 2013|7,124 views

The Bavarian marque that brought us accomplished automobiles like the Z4 and the M3 has something electrifyingly new altogether - will people bite?

The short front overhang is a clear pointer to the i3's nimble driving characteristics

It's similar with the situation we have with electric cars now. Singapore is facing a chicken and egg situation - dealers are waiting for more infrastructure from the Government while the Government is waiting for more electric cars to come before they allocate space for more charging stations. It's like a constant fight to push electric cars to the market, with absolutely no confirmation whether or not buyers can actually get one (and we don't mean a prototype).

The word 'revolutionary' is an oxymoron, let alone the phrase a "revolutionary electric car". It's a crossing of debatable categories such as good and bad or black and white. We might as well speak (or write) about the shy strip dancer or the honest thief.

But yet, an electric car (and it's a production ready model) is the very thing that sprung onto us when BMW unveiled its latest i3 electric city car simultaneously in Beijing, London and New York late last month.

The U-shaped LED taillights are integrated as 'floating' elements into the tailgate

All of a sudden, the electric formulations from other carmakers with their Z.E.s and e-trons and i-Mievs are understandably passed over the fact that, finally, the carmaker that brought us cars like the M3 and Z4 has officially started high stakes electric supremacy with its spanking new urban electric car.

Our guess is the car, quite apart from its driving qualities, will prove to be an inconvenience and, perhaps, annoyance to anti-electric car buyers and other car dealers. Mercedes-Benz may be the number one car seller now, with over 2,300 newly registered cars this year. BMW, on the other hand, is running closely behind with some 300 cars short. When the i3 comes (or even the i8) next year, it will start to create a gap between BMW and them - that is, in theory, unbridgeable.

A revolutionary electric car? It sounds a little like your typical straight-to-history-lessons about the civil war fought between forces loyal to the Government of the Republic of China and forces of the Communists Party of China, with absolutely no legitimate documents to prove whether or not the fight has legally ended.

It's similar with the situation we have with electric cars now. Singapore is facing a chicken and egg situation - dealers are waiting for more infrastructure from the Government while the Government is waiting for more electric cars to come before they allocate space for more charging stations. It's like a constant fight to push electric cars to the market, with absolutely no confirmation whether or not buyers can actually get one (and we don't mean a prototype).

The word 'revolutionary' is an oxymoron, let alone the phrase a "revolutionary electric car". It's a crossing of debatable categories such as good and bad or black and white. We might as well speak (or write) about the shy strip dancer or the honest thief.

But yet, an electric car (and it's a production ready model) is the very thing that sprung onto us when BMW unveiled its latest i3 electric city car simultaneously in Beijing, London and New York late last month.

All of a sudden, the electric formulations from other carmakers with their Z.E.s and e-trons and i-Mievs are understandably passed over the fact that, finally, the carmaker that brought us cars like the M3 and Z4 has officially started high stakes electric supremacy with its spanking new urban electric car.

Our guess is the car, quite apart from its driving qualities, will prove to be an inconvenience and, perhaps, annoyance to anti-electric car buyers and other car dealers. Mercedes-Benz may be the number one car seller now, with over 2,300 newly registered cars this year. BMW, on the other hand, is running closely behind with some 300 cars short. When the i3 comes (or even the i8) next year, it will start to create a gap between BMW and them - that is, in theory, unbridgeable.